“Strange” intrusive Hatakemizumi invades NS for the first time-Halifax

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary earthworm.

But pick it up or look at it after being disturbed — and you’ll see it bump and fly around.

Kristen Noel, council supervisor of the Nova Scotia Invasion Species Council, said:

For the first time in Nova Scotia, an invasive Hatakemizumi was discovered.

It was discovered last month in a tropical foliage plant purchased by a graduate student studying earthworms in the Halifax area.

Stephen Patterson, a Master of Science student at St. Mary’s University, is unaware that invasive species live in the soil of his home’s plants while studying non-native species of Earthworms. Said that.

“One morning I noticed an earthworm sticking its head out of the soil. As an earthworm researcher, I dug out an earthworm to find out what kind it was,” he said. rice field.

“The worm could not be identified by the larvae, but when it was picked up, it began to squeal and I realized that it was likely a species of Hatakemizuku.”

Then he pulled the plant out of the pot and began collecting dozens of insects from the soil, he said. He estimated that there were more than 100 in the pot.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a fully mature individual, so we still don’t know what species it was. We know it’s a species of Hatakemizuku, and the DNA to identify the species. We are waiting for the results of the analysis, “he said.

His professor, Erin Cameron, said it was a coincidence that earthworm researchers made this discovery. It also wondered how widespread the species was already in the state.

“I was skeptical that they were Hatakemizu, so I asked him to bring me some so that I could see them under a microscope,” she explained.

“This is part of the reason I’m worried. It’s just a coincidence that one of the few states working on earthworms found the earthworm, so those who have the jumping worm on their plants I think there are more. “

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According to Cameron, the jumping earthworms originally came from East and Southeast Asia and were first brought to North America by human activities such as plant and soil exchange.

She said they were first discovered around 2018 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and also in New Brunswick last fall.

Earthworms can reach higher densities and breed faster than other earthworms. When they dig a hole and consume organic matter, the soil they leave turns into a dry, granular substance, like coffee powder.

“They only treat all the nutrients in the soil very quickly, leaving the casing behind,” explained Noel of the Nova Scotia Invasive Species Council.

“Soil turns into a very nutrient-deficient ecosystem, but these worms can also replace native species such as fungi, bacteria, and amphibians.”

This is a scenario that scientists want to prevent.

“There is no good way to eradicate them once they are established, so making people aware now and avoiding referrals is an important way to control them,” Cameron said.

According to the New York Master Naturalist Program, Hatakemizu is prevalent in most of the northeastern, southeastern, and midwestern United States.

Both Cameron and Noel ask plant owners to pay attention to Hatakemizuku and send samples if they find something unusual.

“At this point, we expect the plant to be centralized in the Halifax municipality because it was where it was,” Noel said.

“And if there were more worms in the shipment of that plant, I would like it to be isolated in that one nursery. But at this point, we really don’t know.”

Noel said the council could give instructions on how to dispose of worms and soil.

Basically, worms can be put in a plastic bag and then put in the freezer for 24 hours.

As for how to find one, worms are usually gray or brown in color. The narrow bands around their bodies are smooth, white or gray in color, unlike other species in which the bands are raised and pink.

The biggest narrative sign, and the inspiration behind their name, is their actions. They can also jump and thrash and drop their tails for defense.

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